1. Global I Review Neolithic Revolution- The Crusades

2. Important themes for Ancient history The following themes are the most frequent in the 1 st 20 questions on the NYS regents exams. Beginning with the neolithic rev. and concluding with the rise of empires. Human history is ever evolving and repeating itself through politics, religion, economics, & conflict.

3. Neolithic Revolution  Paleolithic = Old Stone Age  early people were nomadic hunter- gatherers  Neolithic = New Stone Age  Revolution = a relatively quick and radical change in government or society  The Neolithic Revolution was the time when early humans first started to settle down and use farming (agriculture) to survive  This change allowed civilizations to develop

4. River Civilizations  Tigris & Euphrates: Mesopotamia/Sumer/Babylon  Nile River: Egypt  Indus & Ganges: Harappan Civilization (Ancient India)  Huang He (Yellow River): China

5. Development of Government and Towns Five features of a civilization: cities, written language, specialization of jobs, central government, religion/belief system  Kings, warrior chiefs, and religious officials were heads of government and had the most power  Patriarchy: males were the heads of society

6. Polytheistic Religions Animism: nature worship, the belief that all living and non-living things have a spirit  Hinduism: traditional religion of India  karma,  dharma,  reincarnation  Shinto – traditional religion of Japan  Buddhism – stresses unification with a universal spirit; shares many beliefs with Hinduism

7. Chinese Beliefs  Daoism (Taoism) – belief in two opposing forces (yin & yang) present in all  Confucianism – founded by Confucius, emphasized that every individual has a place in society (Five Basic Relationships)

8. Monotheistic Religions  Judaism – Moses, Ten Commandments. The Hebrews were kept as slaves by the Egyptians  Christianity – belief in Jesus, the Holy Trinity. A kind and gentle God offers salvation to all who believe  Islam – God is called Allah, Five Pillars of Faith (prayer, fasting, alms, pilgrimage to Mecca, belief in Mohammed)

9. Contributions to Later Societies  Writing systems: cuneiform (Mesopotamia), hieroglyphics (Egypt), Chinese  Law Code: Code of Hammurabi (Mesopotamia)

10. Greece Government: Democracy (rule by the citizens) was first used in Classical Greece  Architecture: Greek style columns  Philosophy: Socrates, Plato, Aristotle

11. Rome Language: Latin is the basis of many major languages  Laws: Twelve Tables  The Roman Empire stretched from England to Asia

12. Cultural Diffusion Alexander the Great: conquered vast amounts of land, spread the Hellenistic (Greek) culture wherever he went  Silk Road: ran from China all the way to the Roman Empire

13. Rise & Fall of Empires With the exception of China, none of these cultures exist today. All empires eventually fell.  Reasons for decline include weak governments and rulers, invasions by foreigners, and large debt.  When the Roman Empire fell, a period of chaos swept through Europe known as the Dark Ages

14. Byzantine Empire When the Roman Empire fell, the Byzantine Empire stood strong in the East  It’s capital city was Constantinople, now called Istanbul (in Turkey)

15. Contributions: Created the Eastern Orthodox branch of Christianity  Developed the Cyrillic alphabet and passed it to Russia  Preserved Roman law through Justinian’s Code

16. Early Russia Russia’s geography had a great impact on its history: Tundra: polar flatlands, frozen all year Early Russia was settled by the Vikings. Russia- Viking term- “men who row”

17. Early Russia Tiaga: sub-arctic climate, dense forest Steppe: flat, dry grasslands Coastline: Early Russia was driven to find a warm water port – a port where the water did not freeze over  the people were subject to harsh rule by the czar (king)

18. Golden Age of Islam Islam’s Golden Age lasted from 850-950 A.D., under the Abbasid dynasty  The Islamic empire included all of the Middle East, Northern Africa, western Asia, and Spain

19. Contributions:  preservation of Greek and Roman learning  illuminated manuscripts, calligraphy, arabesque  the use of zero, astronomy

20. Feudalism/Manorialism in Europe  Feudalism: an economic, political, and social system based on land (manor) and protection in exchange for service.  Feudalism came about because there was no central government, and the people had no one to protect them.  Lords granted land, called a fief, to a vassal in exchange for loyalty and services

21. Feudalism  Vassals (lower lords) gave the peasants protection in exchange for working the land  Serfs were lower than peasants, they were bound to the land on which they were born  Knights were soldiers bound to the honor code of chivalry

22. The Crusades  Wars fought between Christians and Muslims over Israel  the first crusade began in 1096; they lasted almost 200 years!  Israel is considered holy to Christians, Jews, and Muslims EFFECTS- cultural diffusion – interaction between Christians and Muslims led to a demand for eastern goods decline of feudalism – lords died in battle; peasants and serfs deserted the manors

23. Conclusion Since the dawn of humankind, Humans are a unique species. Humans develop over millions of years into the most dominant species on earth. WHY: We adapt to our environment Create complex civilizations (laws, engineering) Create belief systems Invent tools and weapons from natural resources